Video: Is HIIPA the new HIIT?

by | Exercise and Fitness, Sports Fitness

What do – washing the car, carrying groceries, and climbing stairs – have in common? They’re all opportunities for High Intensity Incidental Physical Activity or HIIPA.

Regular HIIPA has great promise for our health, experts from the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney report. With only half of Australian adults meeting the physical activity guidelines of 30 mins/day, 5 days/week, this research is reassuring.

As long as you push yourself to ‘huff and puff’, many daily tasks can boost your fitness, reduce your risk of heart disease and premature death. If an activity makes it difficult for you to talk, it’s counted as an HIIPA.

There’s no longer excuses not to exercise, so pick 3 regular activities every day such as:

  • Carrying groceries
  • Playing backyard games with your kids or grandkids
  • Household chores
  • Walking the dog
  • Walking to work
  • Taking the stairs not the lift or escalator

Push harder than usual to the ‘huff and puff’ stage and reap the benefits!